Authentic leadership is proposed as the core of effective leadership needed to build trust because of its clear focus on the positive role modeling of honesty, integrity, and high ethical standards in the development of leader-follower relationships (Wong & Cummings 2009).
Purpose: Wong & Cummings' intent is to surmise that in order to have effective leadership there needs to be authentic leadership. But what is authentic leadership? Rowe and Guerrero (2013) noted "An empirically tested model of authentic leadership is still being developed, so important questions about its effectiveness have yet to be entirely substantiated. However, both theoretical and practical perspectives suggest that authentic leadership goes beyond a trait-based or a merely relational approach to leadership. Rather, authentic leaders may possess some key characteristics (such as self-awareness, relational transparency, internalized moral perspective, and balanced processing), but these abilities can also be developed over time and are enacted in relation to others" (p. 299). So in retrospect, to be an effective leader would one have to dedicate a substantial amount of time to develop an authentic leadership style in order to be highly effective?
Question: The question at issue for many is exactly how authentic leadership translates into building trust and generating zealous support from subordinates in order to improve organizational performance.
Information: Rowe and Guerrero(2013) wrote "Research on authentic leadership was originally spearheaded out of the University of Nebraska, where Luthans and Avolio (2003) first wrote about authentic leadership development as a model of leadership that was more ethical and humane than what was being portrayed in the popular business press after ethical scandals at WorldCom, Tyco, and Enron, to name a few" (p. 297). These organizations failed due to the lack of ethics, morals, and self-regulated positive behavior. Authentic leadership, it seems may have been born out of necessity to counteract the culture that organizations were experiencing with their leadership.
Point of View: I think that trust is the cornerstone of leadership. Without it nothing can be built. If you work for someone you feel does not have your best interest in mind how likely is it you will do the best job possible? Leaders need to lead by example and should serve as role models. As leaders, we should not ask others to do what we are not willing to do ourselves.
Assumptions: I assume that authentic leadership would work for every organization, but would it really? Are there better theories of leadership that would be a better fit for certain types of organizations? In theory, I think authentic leadership is admirable. I want to work for and alongside of individuals that are honest, ethical, and accountable. Not every organization however is run in this manner (I will provide an example to follow).
Consequences: I feel that authentic leadership looks to serve a great purpose. Authentic leadership is rooted in strong core values that positively influences others and provides them with the tools necessary for personal development.
Conclusion: Authentic leadership enables us to be aware of our values, feelings, and motives. It gives us the opportunity to significantly positively influence others to work together and accomplish goals. This leadership style is open, communicative, transparent, and truthful. It promotes personal growth, understanding, teamwork, and is a catalyst for change. Yukl (2010) stated that authentic leaders "do not seek leadership positions to gratify a need for esteem, status and power, but rather to express and enact their values and beliefs" (p.124).
Critics attribute authentic leadership to a way to manipulate and deceive followers. Martin and Sims (1956) and Bailey (1998) wrote that all leaders must be manipulative to succeed.
Purpose: To look at authentic leadership through a different lens. These critics contend that in order for an authentic leader to be effective they have to lie or manipulate others in order to pursue their own personal agendas.
Question: In order to be an effective leader do we need to manipulate or deceive others? They say that "every coin has two sides" but is manipulation truly the other side of authentic leadership?
Information: "Research clearly shows above all that followers value integrity and honesty in their leaders. Leaders who are caught lying, particularly if they refuse to own up to the lie and ask forgiveness, will lose the trust of their followers. And often, odds are if your boss lies to you once, it is probably not the first or last lie." Retrieved from
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/200906/how-spot-bad-leader-ii-really-bad-leaders
Point of View: In my opinion, I find this to be a cynical position of a leadership theory based on positivity. Leadership has no place for manipulators or individuals who place their own personal gratification above that of their subordinates or their organization.
Assumptions: Authentic leaders have hidden agendas contrary to the core values and beliefs the theory is based on. It can be assumed that authentic leaders are "puppet masters".
Consequences: This stigma that leaders are self-serving goes against the basis of authentic leadership, however human nature in not infallible therefore this statement is a possibility organizations should be aware of. Individuals that practice this form of leadership are toxic to their organizations. Manipulators pray on the weaknesses of others for personal gain. This type of behavior generally is repeated until someone stands up to the exploitation.
Conclusion: Authentic leadership cannot be manipulative if the leadership is genuine, honest, transparent, and symbiotic by definition. Are there going to be those that might use manipulation to get what they want? Possibly, however the statement that in order to be successful, leaders must be manipulative, to me does not hold weight.
About 10 years ago I worked for a company that sold trading software. At the time a friend of mine had just finished UCF and started working in sales for this organization. He said they were hiring and needed help. Even though I had not completed my undergrad I was offered a position. I traveled extensively throughout the US for work and the company paid for everything. I was offered more money than I had ever made. I knew very little about the company or its products and I learned on the job. This was a great opportunity for me and I was able to help my family financially with the salary I was making. I would travel to cities with a team and we held seminars to promote our trading platform with the pitch that anyone could make money using our software. The organization seemed to be great. The company had begun to grow exponentially and was moving into markets across the country. Leadership seemed to be very concerned with our customers and believed in the product they were selling. I sat with leadership a number of times and they shared the vision for the company and how what they were offering was really making a positive impact on people's financial lives. It felt good to be part of such an organization, or so I thought. Then things began to change. I was being told to "not tell the entire truth" to our customers. I was essentially being asked to do whatever was necessary in order to make sales regardless of whether it was in the best interest of our customers or not. As I learned more and more about the company and spoke with people who were unhappy with our products, I learned that the company was scamming people and not providing refunds as they had promised to unhappy customers. I was misled this whole time. I felt sick. This went against everything I stood for and believed in. I resigned without notice. Here I thought I was working for a great organization making more money than I could spend all the while I was a pawn in a very real ponzi scheme.
Not all organizations will most likely benefit from authentic leadership, however the values and principles authentic leadership is built on are admirable. Whether or not organizations can be more successful with this style of leadership still remains to be seen. Not all leaders are looking to manipulate others.Does this mean manipulation does not exist? I wish the answer was no but I actually lived through it and know what it is like first hand to be lied to. To wake up with such a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach that you actually feel you are going to physically be ill. Only unscrupulous organizations void of any morality, honor, or dignity use these tactics. This experience proved to me what leadership was not and how vulnerable we can be when we do not have experience with such things. It was a great lesson learned and a reminder that no amount of money was worth me compromising my morals and values.
Riggio, R. (2009). How
to Spot a Bad Leader II: Really Bad Leaders. Psychology Today. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/200906/how-spot-bad-leader-ii-really-bad-leaders
Rowe, W. Glenn and Guerrero
Laura. (2013). Cases in Leadership. (3rd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA. :
Sage Publications, Inc.
Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in
organizations (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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